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RD: Polymorph
Overview A polymorphing life form locked in a space pod escapes and gets onto Red Dwarf. It feeds off extreme emotions and uses its shape-changing abilities to feed off Lister, Rimmer, the Cat, and Kryten... Summary While an insane GELF known as a Polymorph (created as the ultimate warrior, which can change its own shape to "suit its terrain and deceive its enemies") infiltrates Red Dwarf, Lister cooks his "Shami Kebab Diablo" for himself and the Cat (which put Olaf Petersen in sick bay for a week). After his attempt at more classy dining (involving using items from the medical unit, including a bovine artificial insemination syringe to serve lemon juice) puts the Cat off and Kryten finishes off the cleaning of his quarters, one of the Shami Kebabs attacks him, then changes into boxer shorts which shrink while Lister tries to remove them (resulting in a scene which casts Lister in the wrong light when Rimmer walks in). It then changes into a snake (a python), Lister's second worst fear and then into an "8 foot tall armour plated alien killing machine" and drains Lister of his fear. After Kryten explains what the Polymorph is and that it feeds on negative emotion, Lister wakes up wanting to fight it. Kryten sedates him and they make plans to "run away". As they load up supplies and after the Cat runs from heat-seeking bazookoid fire, he is seduced by a woman, who reveals herself to be the polymorph and proceeds to drain him of his vanity. Kryten and Rimmer then find him and Rimmer tells Kryten it is his fault as he let the Cat run off alone. Rimmer reveals himself as the polymorph and drains Kryten of his guilt, making him insulting and not caring about his crewmates, while the Cat becomes a tramp without his vanity. They meet up with Lister to find Mrs Rimmer sleeping with him, which contradicts Arnold's "very prim, very proper, almost austere" view of her. When she tells him how Lister made love to her, Rimmer is enraged and the polymorph (who was in Mrs Rimmer's form) drains him of his anger, turning him into the model counselor. They go off to the cargo bay to hunt down the polymorph, but accidently release the shots fired earlier and destroy the Polymorph, restoring their personalities. It is then revealed that a second polymorph arrived (in the remastered version, it died of old age in Lister's clean underpants drawer). Notes *This episode revealed that Rimmer was tormented by his brothers and that his mother had no time for him (or more specifically she "despised idiots, no time for fools"). *This is the first appearance of Kryten's groinal attachment. *The shot in which the polymorph grows to gigantic size and sucks Lister's fear out of him reveals an aspect of Lister and Rimmer's quarter's which is otherwise never evident on screen: that it apparently not only has a very high ceiling, but also sky-lighting. *In the early 1990s, Red Dwarf aired in Canada on YTV, a channel aimed at young viewers. While the network usually had to exercise some censorship in terms of language or other content, they evidently gave up trying to make "Polymorph" a family friendly episode, and so it never aired on YTV. *Although logically one would assume the fearless Lister would say he planned to "swat it", referring to the monster, the DVD subtitles and chapter titles confirm he does, indeed, say "twat it". *This episode continues the trend in Series III of the writers ignoring the fact that Rimmer, being a hologram, should not be able to touch, or be touched, by any solid matter (indeed, this is a major element of several upcoming episodes). Yet the polymorph is able to touch Rimmer's forehead with its probe and suck the anger out of him, even though, being light generated by Holly, none of this emotion should actually reside where the hologram is. In the novel Better Than Life, it is more realistically stated that it ventured up into the Hologram Simulation Suite. *According to Craig Charles on the DVD commentary, at least one viewer was upset enough by the acronym of Rimmer's suggested anti-polymorph organization (which happened to be the same as that of a female sexual organ) that she refused to watch Red Dwarf hereafter, citing her horror at a question about it being raised by her young daughter. Noteworthy Dialogue *'Rimmer:' Well I can't say I'm totally shocked... You'll bonk anything, won't you, Lister? *'Lister (without his fear):' I'' ''say lets get out there and twat it! *'Rimmer (without his anger):' David. David. Do you have anything to bring to this forum? (While discussing how to beat the Polymorph) Lister (without his fear): Yes, I have actually, '''Arnold'. Why don't we go down to the ammunition stores, get the nuclear war-heads and strap one to my head?! I'll nut the smegger to oblivion!'' Rimmer (without his anger): Right, well, th-th-that's very nice, David. Let's put that on the back-burner, shall we? *'Rimmer (without his anger):' ...Um, I think we're all beginning to lose sight of the real issue here, which is: what are we going to call ourselves? And I think it comes down to a choice between "The League Against Salivating Monsters" or, my own personal preference, which is "the Commitee for the Liberation and Integration of Terrifying Organisms and their Rehabilitation Into Society". Um, one draw-back with that, the abbreviation is "C.L.I.T.O.R.I.S.". *'Mrs Rimmer:' ...The things this boy can do with Alphabetti Spaghetti. Rimmer: Alphabetti Spaghetti!? Background Information Any behind the scenes information or any other information that doesn't fit in the other categories. Guest Stars Frances Barber as the Female Genetic Mutant who takes the Cat's vanity References Other articles of things featured in this particular episode Trivia While they were discussing how to handle the Polymorph, Lister shouted that "it's Clobberin' time", the catchphrase of the Thing of Marvel Comics "Fantastic Four". Rimmer suggests running away and the crew agree, yet in the next scene they are going into the Cargo Deck in pursuit of the polymorph (although this is explained in the Red Dwarf novel 'Better than life' when they go to the Cargo Deck to gather supplies to wait the Polymorph out, it is possible that in the episode 'Polymorph' they were in the Cargo Deck for similar reasons). Category:Episodes Category:Series III Episodes